The Wayne Community College Foundation Scholarship Invitational exceeded its organizers’ expectations again this year.
The event netted $176,000, handily passing the $170,000 target organizers had set. All of the money goes to WCC students for scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year.
“This pool of money is essential for scholarships,” said Foundation Executive Director Adrienne Northington. “Without our assistance, students would not be able to attend Wayne Community College.”
The total raised in the event’s 24-year history is more than $1,600,000.
The Invitational’s live and silent auctions and golf tournament held in June at Walnut Creek Country Club, combined with sponsorships and donations, resulted in the record-breaking take. Last year’s tournament brought in more than $167,000.
Credit goes to sponsors and donors as well as the event’s organizers and volunteers, said Invitational Co-chair Jeff Jackson. “This is always a group effort,” he said.
Nearly 100 businesses and individuals served as sponsors for this year’s tournament at eight financial levels. Dozens of people and businesses donated items for the auctions that brought in $24,461. Students and employees at the college provided a volunteer workforce throughout the event.
David Jackson of Invitational Sponsor Jackson and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning said the cause is an easy one to support, especially when he has seen how grateful students are for the opportunity to improve their lives through education. “Students who are receiving these scholarships are more and more appreciative,” he said.
Candace Jones, the speaker at the event’s dinner, is one of the thankful recipients. She is a WCC alumna who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this spring and has been admitted into Columbia University’s Higher and Postsecondary Education master’s degree program. During her time at WCC, Miss Jones worked in the Foundation office through the Federal Work-Study Program and received several Foundation scholarships.
She told the gathering, “I walked into the Foundation Office as the girl who was never supposed to make it, as the girl who was lucky just to have graduated from high school. My entire life changed when my scholarship donors decided to take a chance on me and provide financial assistance to a stranger whom they weren’t even sure would appreciate their generosity in return.”
“If you don’t remember anything else that I have said tonight, please, just remember that your scholarships can completely change someone’s life, just as they have completely changed mine,” Miss Jones said.
“Candace brought everyone to their feet at the conclusion of her speech,” Mrs. Northington said. ”You never know the power of your generosity or the impact of mentoring until a student like her shares her story. Her talk validated everything we strive to do for our students here at WCC and through the Foundation.”
“What this tournament does is provide access to many, many students,” said former WCC President Kay Albertson. “My congratulations go to the committee for another successful tournament.”
This year’s event sponsors were
Invitational Sponsor: Jackson and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning
Diamond Sponsors: Drs. Woody and Kay Albertson, Anonymous, Benton and Sons, Eastern Building Supply, Beth and Jack Kannan, Korschun Foundation, R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company LLC, and AnnaLean and Ed Reeves.
Platinum Sponsors: Alta Foods LLC, Andy’s Foundation, AP Exhaust Technologies Inc., AT&T, Branch Banking & Trust Co., Case Farms, CopyPro, First Citizens Bank, Follett Bookstore, Franklin Baking Company, Georgia Pacific, Ivey’s Spring Creek Farm, Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Raymond James Financial Services Inc., Victoria Samuels, Wells Fargo Bank, and Wooten Development Company
Scholarship Sponsors: Arnold Wilbert Vault, BB&T Insurance Services Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Home Services McMillen Group, Best Commerical Development LLC, Best Distributing Company, The Borden Fund Inc., Larry and Fran Boyce, Brady Trane Services Inc., Carr, Riggs & Ingram, Deacon Jones Auto Group, Dr. Deborah K. Fulbright, Goldsboro Builders Supply, Goldsboro Skin Center, Hine Sitework Inc., Home Health and Hospice Care Inc., Horne Moving Systems Inc., Tom and Cathy Howell, IMPulse NC LLC, Bill and Melda Lamm, The Little Bank, Piedmont Natural Gas, Precision Plumbing, Professional Data Management Inc., Select Bank & Trust, Seymour Funeral Home and Cremation, Dr. Gene and Jessica Smith , Southern Bank, Sterne Agee, Strickland, Agner and Associates, Wayne Electric Company, Wayne Realty & Insurance Co. Inc., Wells Fargo Advisors, Whole Harvest Foods LLC, and Nancy and Ross Wilson
Gold Sponsors: Baddour, Parker & Hine PC, Best & Langston Inc., Current Electric, Dan Wise Chevrolet Inc., Daniels and Daniels Construction Company Inc., Furniture Fair, General Industries Inc., KS Bank, North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union, E.J. Pope & Son Inc., H. W. Reinhardt and Company, Strickland Insurance Group, Warren, Kerr, Walston, Taylor & Smith L.L.P., and Wayne Memorial Hospital Inc.
Hole Sponsors: Asphalt Services LLC, In Memory of Randy Baker, Barwick Lawn Care, Evergreen Memorial Service Inc., Dr. Tony Hamm, Hartford Mutual Funds, Live Oak Landscaping and Design, Merrill Lynch-Homes Hill Group, Nunn, Brashear & Uzzell P.A., RE/MAX Complete, Snipes Body Shop, State Electric Supply Company, George F. Whitfield, and Dr. Edward H. Wilson
Blue Sponsors: Carolina Ice Company, Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Culligan Water, Dr. Tony Hamm, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Logan’s Roadhouse, Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC, Southco Distributing Company, and Strickland, Agner and Associates
Corporate Dinner Sponsor: Outback Steakhouse
Wooten Oil Company founded the event in 1993 as a way to contribute to a cause that would use all of the money raised locally. Dillon Wooten and his business Wooten Development Company continue to be involved in it.
The Foundation of Wayne Community College is a non-profit organization that works to broaden the base of community support for educational opportunities at the college. In addition to providing scholarships, it funds innovative campus projects and employee recognition, and offers cultural programs for the community.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 14,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.
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Dr. Thomas A. Walker Jr. has been official elected to serve as the sixth president of Wayne Community College.
The college’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously for Dr. Walker at its July 26 meeting. It had selected him as its candidate for the position on June 17 and submitted his name to the State Board of Community Colleges, which approved him at its July 15 meeting.
The Trustees’ action was the last step in the process of finding a successor to Dr. Kay H. Albertson who will retire July 30, ending a 33-year career with the North Carolina Community College System that included 19 years at WCC, nine of that as the college’s president.
Dr. Gene Smith, WCC’s vice-president for academic and student services, was unanimously elected by the board to serve as the interim president of the college for the month of August. Dr. Walker will take the reins on Sept. 1.
Dr. Walker is coming to WCC from Nebraska where he was the campus president of the Grand Island campus of Central Community College, a position he had held since 2014. Prior to that, he was the vice-president for student and enrollment services for all locations of the college, which serves 25 counties. He has also worked in higher education in Missouri, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
He is originally from Lumberton, N.C. and served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Dr. Walker has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His graduate degrees include a master of public administration and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Memphis.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 14,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves. More information about the college can be found at waynecc.edu.
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The WorkKeys® tests for the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) will be offered five times in Wayne County in July.
The Wayne Occupational Readiness Keys for Success (WORKS) program will provide testing sessions 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on July 12 and July 26, 12:30-4:30 p.m. on July 7, and 4:30-9 p.m. on July 20. All of these sessions will be held in Room 136 of the Walnut Building on Wayne Community College’s main campus in Goldsboro. Pre-registration by calling (919) 739-7004 is required.
Cost to take the set of three skill assessments (applied mathematics, locating information, and reading for information) is $36 but assistance to cover that cost may be available.
The Airman and Family Readiness Center on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base offers free testing to military personnel and their dependents. The next session will be held 1-4:30 p.m. on July 19 at the Watkins-Das Learning Center computer lab. Pre-register by calling (919) 772-1123.
Those wishing to prepare for the NCRC may take advantage of the self-directed instruction and skills upgrade training offered in the WORKS Lab, which also is located in Room 136 of the Walnut Building. The lab is open 9 a.m.-noon on Mondays and Thursdays, 1-4 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, and 5-8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It will be closed on Monday, July 4.
Individuals may earn bronze, silver, gold, or platinum certificates based on their performance on the tests. The NCRC is recognized by employers across the state as a proven measurement of job skills.
Wayne County leads the state, with more than 16,600 certificates awarded. A quarter of the county’s population holds the credential.
WORKS is a collaborative effort of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, Wayne Community College, Wayne County Public Schools, County of Wayne, Wayne County Career Center, City of Goldsboro, and the Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board. It is housed Wayne Community College’s campus in Goldsboro.
More information on WORKS and the NCRC is available at www.wayneworksnc.com/works/.
Students entering certain technical programs at Wayne Community College may be eligible for renewable scholarships.
The Foundation of Wayne Community College’s “Top 15” Scholarship Program is designed to encourage students to study and go into careers in accounting; agribusiness, air conditioning, heating and refrigeration; General Motors automotive systems; engineering (the college’s newest associate degree program); collision repair and refinishing; criminal justice; early childhood education; emergency management; mechatronics engineering; medical assisting; medical laboratory technology; medical office administration; network management; or pharmacy technology.
These scholarships provide full- or part-time in-state tuition and fees while pursuing one of the designated diplomas or degrees at the college. The scholarship is renewable by re-applying each semester if the recipient maintains a 2.5 grade point average and passes 67 percent of attempted credits.
To apply, go to www.waynecc.edu/foundation/scholarships/, download the “College Student Scholarship Application Form,” and note interest in the “Top 15 Scholarship” on the form. Applications also can be obtained from the Foundation by calling (919) 739-7022 or going to the Foundation offices in the Dogwood Building on the college’s main campus in Goldsboro.
The deadline to apply for this scholarship is Friday, July 22.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 14,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. The college’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.
The Foundation of Wayne Community College awarded 569 scholarships worth more than $367,000 for the summer 2015, fall 2015, and spring 2016 semesters. In addition to raising and dispersing funds for scholarships, it provides funding for innovative campus projects and employee recognition, and offers cultural programs for the community.
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Wayne Community College Continuing Education will hold several information sessions about its nurse aide program in June.
Anyone interested in enrolling in a Nurse Aide I or II course in the fall 2016 session must attend an information session about the registration process for the program. The sessions are free and do not require pre-registration.
The sessions are scheduled for 12-1 p.m. on June 2, 9, and 16; and 5:30-6:30 p.m. on June 7, 14, 21, and 28.
All will be held in Room 161 of the Wayne Learning Center (main building) on the college’s main campus in Goldsboro. Attendees must stay for the entire session in order to obtain registration paperwork and be allowed to sign up for a course during the registration period that will be held in July.
Nurse Aide courses are offered at a variety of times during the day and in both traditional and hybrid (partially online) instructional methods. The fall semester runs mid-August through mid-December.
For additional information on these or any other WCC Continuing Education allied health courses, contact Terrie Wynn at (919) 739-6935 or tjwynn@waynecc.edu or Joyce Hamilton-Fleming at (919)739-6929 or jahamilton-fleming@waynecc.edu or go to www.waynecc.edu/continuing-ed/allied-health/.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 14,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs.
Wayne Community College’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.
